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Lanie

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Drk--that's exactly what I do with the bottles from the fridge! When they are older, do they not like them cold? Anderson was wailing one morning at 3am and I had forgotten to take one out from the feeding before so I tried it out with no complaints. Now I don't have to wait anymore!

And drk--i keep meaning to ask you... What kind of pump do you have that you could pump in the car? Is it battery operated? Do you have a plug in one for home as well?
 

Logan Sapphire

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Not drk, but I think she has the Freestyle. I have it too- it's perfect for portability. You can plug it in, if needed. I also have a car adapter.

Question for those of you who don't heat up your refrigerated bottles- what do you do to mix the fat that's separated and clinging to the sides of the bottle?
 

Puppmom

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I warm mine but I use a baby spoon to scrape the edges and stir the milk. This seems to help and doesn't leave all the bubbles like shaking does.
 

Kunzite

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I am learning so much from this thread!! I just assumed that once the bottle was out of the fridge that it had to be used within an hour, just like if it had been heated. It sounds like that's not the case. So how long can the bottle be out of the fridge then (i.e. if DH and O go out for the afternoon how long can they be gone)?

Lanie - I go back to work in three weeks. DH hadn't originally planned to take so much time off but since nearly all of my leave was eaten up in the hospital he decided to take off the maximum. That way we can hold off on day care as long as possible since O's immune system isn't quite up to par. We never did hear anything official about the Barium (or the lactose test for that matter). Maybe they're waiting to discuss them with us at O's appointment next week. I don't know, it seems odd that they haven't called. If this kid ever takes a nap today maybe I should try to call them!!
 

drk

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I have the freestyle - use it plugged in at home, on the battery on the go.

Never _shake_ breastmilk, as it does something bad to the proteins so it's not as good for baby. Swirl. Sometimes if the milk's a little cold and really separated out, I'll just dunk the bottle in a mug of warm/hot water to make sure it mixes. Or out at a restaurant, we've put the bottle between our thighs to try to warm it up a little more to mix it.

Kunzite - I assume the milk can be out up to 6 hours, just as if it were freshly pumped. Considering it takes an hour or so to warm up, I'd bet it would stay good a little longer than that too.
 

drk

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And if I'm going to be out longer (like when flying to Europe), I just kept the bottles in the Medela freezer pack that came with my pump until 2 hours before each feed.
 

Puppmom

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Huh? What's this no shaking business? ...one more thing to worry about. I put the milk I pump into jugs - usually 20-24 ounces goes into the jug. MIL fills the bottles using the jug. I'm pretty sure she shakes it up.
 

Lanie

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I didn't know about not shaking it either!

I've read it's good for 6 hrs too. Too long for me to be away from the dreaded pump. If I get one more question about why I pump more than feed directly from the tap, I'm going to scream!

I found an awesome forum for pumping. Am I allowed to post it here? If not, google ivillage and pumping or something along those lines. It has great info!
 

Puppmom

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Ok, no more shaking but I'm skeptical that *swirling* will mix it well. We'll see!
 

Miscka

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Sorry to interrupt....I am going back to work at 6ish weeks so have been lurking here. Kunzite - that link says no shaking or boiling or freezing? Surely the freezing part is not right? I never would have thought about the shaking thing at all! yikes.
 

turtledazzle

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Logan Sapphire|1296149019|2834668 said:
Question for those of you who don't heat up your refrigerated bottles- what do you do to mix the fat that's separated and clinging to the sides of the bottle?

I rub my fingers on the bottle near the top of the milk where the fat usually clings to the sides to slightly warm up that area while swirling the milk to get everything to mix up.
 

turtledazzle

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Logan Sapphire|1295568371|2828151 said:
Turtle- I always had heard you could only heat breastmilk twice, so defrosting it counts as one heating, and then one more time. But I'd be delighted to be told otherwise! Let me know if you find something to the contrary!

OK ... found something on this. I'm reading "Nursing Mother, Working Mother" and came across the following paragraph last night:

"What happens if you thaw a few ounces of breast milk and your baby only takes half of it? What do you do with the leftover milk? Although laboratory research is lacking in this area, most LCs believe that thawed or even warmed milk can be safely refrigerated, re-warmed, and used for the next feeding, as long as it has not been left at room temperature for longer than one hour."

So, while it is certainly not conclusive (it seems nothing about breast milk really is -- we should all get together and do some research and publish this stuff (that is the scientist in me coming out)), it does make me think that it is probably OK.
I tend to not be overly paranoid about breast milk (which is strange since I'm paranoid about much of everything else baby-related), so when I dip into my freezer stash I'll probably do a trial with this using a smell and taste test.

ETA: the paragraph above is on page 157 if anyone has the book.
 

drk

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I've reused milk for the next feeding many times with no issues. Even after letting it warm up for 2 hours before feeding it. I don't warm up the little leftovers the next time though, just add milk to it to make up the next bottle. K's very consistent about drinking 5oz each time for the most part though.

Swirling room temp milk works well for getting the fat to mix back in. I don't keep my milk in a pitcher though, so I'm able to take each bottle out individually to let it warm up before a feed. Makes it easier to get it properly mixed, I think.
 

Logan Sapphire

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So I just wanted to report on my weaning experience so far. I just dropped from 3 to 2 pumps, previously pumping at 4.30am, 1pm, and 8pm. Now I'm doing 4.30am and 3pm. It's hard to tell if my supply is taking a major nosedive yet- I get anywhere from 6.5 oz to 8oz per pump, just depending. The first day I dropped, I was really engorged and woke up leaking at 2.30am. I was totally fine the next day though. I have a feeling my supply will dry up quickly, which saddens and excites me all at once! Drew is now drinking 2 bottles of fresh and 2 or 3 of frozen each day now that I'm down pumps. I plan to rent my hospital pump until 2/21, so will continue on 2 pumps till then, and then will go down to 1 pump in the morning. It'll be a blessed relief to not have to drag it to work or to site visits with grantees.

Also, I live in the DC area and we lost power for about 24 hours due to the snow on Wed. I resisted the urge to check on my two deep freezers and was really scared, but luckily it all worked out and no milk was harmed.
 

drk

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I'm scared of power outages too! We had a couple last year, and I was sooo scared of even opening the fridge to get food out, in case the milk in there warmed up too much.

LS - good to hear the weaning is going well. I'm going to start next week. I'm at 5 pumps a day, and am debating dropping to 4 or 3 to start with.
 

Miscka

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Guys can I ask some newbie qs? I have really enjoyed following this thread, since, again, I am going back to work at about 6 weeks and so am going to try my darndest to be a good pumper.

DH and I got in a long and blind-leading-blind convo today ab storage. I know this is probably stupid but how the heck does this work?? Like do I pump into bags or bottles? Bags seem like they would be hard to store? Then I when I want to use it, I thaw? And pour into bottle? I have a medela freestyle, do I need some kind of adapter?

Also a sort of related-but-not question, how do you clean your bottles? Do you hand wash? dishwasher? one of those sterilizers?

Sorry to interrupt the convo, I just have no idea how to find out this stuff! I looked around Kellymom but didnt really find what I was looking for, esp about the actual process of storing.
 

Puppmom

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Miscka, to answer your questions, here's my *system*:

I pump into bottles at work. I carry my pump and the storage tote for bottles. Since I pump twice, I bring 4 bottles.

When I arrive home, I pour the contents of the bottles into a jug with a screw on lid and use one of those really fat rubberbands around it to indicate the day the milk was pumped. I just write the day of the week on it with a sharpie. I usually pump about 20 ounces per day between my two work pumps and one morning pump.

MIL dispenses the milk from the jug into the bottles we use to feed N

At the end of the day, I take what she didn't use and freeze it (although I sometimes only freeze every few days). I used Lansinoh bags and I lay them flat in the freezer. Once they're frozen, I transfer them to the deep freezer standing up in an ice cube bin.

If your baby will be going to daycare, it seems that most require you to send pre-made bottles but you'll still probably pump into the bottles that came with your pump and transfer into the bottles that you actually use for feeding. I definitely found it handy to purchase extra bottles for pumping.

I hand wash the bottles that N eats from - I use BornFree and there are *parts* that can't go in the dishwasher. I use the dishwasher sometimes for my pumping bottles - top rack only. All pump parts are hand washed as well. Once per week, I steam clean everything in the Medela sanitizing bags.

Good luck!
 

AllieLuv83

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I pump into medela bottles at work. I have 8 bottles and caps, but only bring 4 with me. I have two sets of flanges, and valves so I don't need to wash at work.

I bring bottles home, fill up what he will use at daycare the next day, the rest gets frozen. Pump parts and bottle parts (dr. brown) go into the dishwasher, bottles get hand washed.
 

turtledazzle

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I either pump into the Medela bottles or directly into the Avent bottles we use (I bought this conversion kit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005BXEY/ref=oss_product). I like pumping into the Avent bottles as it saves some time as I can go ahead and make them into 5 oz size while at work and it's one less thing to wash (oh how I hate hand washing, but it is the easiest way to deal with all the stuff IMO).
 

Miscka

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Thank you guys so much! That was extremely helpful. If anyone else wants to share their "system" I would love it.

Pupp, that made so much sense to me. Thank you! You said you pump 2x at work, do you mind sharing the timing? Sorry if thats a repeat q. I am hoping to pump at least 2x at work, and attempt to go over to his daycare (super close to office) and feed him at lunch a few times a week, or as much as I can.

Allie, do you freeze in the bottles or transfer to bags? Your tip on extra parts for work is a great one, I dont want to have to clean anything while I am there.

Does anyone else have a Freestyle? For some reason I don't know if the extra parts to do that with would be the same as a PIS or other. The "spare parts kit" doesnt have the valves/membranes I keep hearing about.

Turtle - Your system is what I wish I could do, but I dont know what kind of bottles we will use. So far we bought Tommee Tippee, but who knows what the kid will like!

Thanks again, ladies. I really appreciate it!
 

Loves Vintage

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Jumping in as a newbie here.

Did anyone start out supplementing with formula? My LO is now 9 days old. I started pumping at the hospital, but milk did not come in until she was 5 days old, which I understand is normal. We are seeing a lactation consultant for a latching issue. I understand that I am to pump frequently in order to increase production, but it is so hard, especially since we are supplementing with formula. I am not producing nearly enough for her. She eats about 3 oz per feeding, and I am lucky to produce 1-1.5 oz at a time. I have not been pumping in the middle of the night. The formula seems to be a bit of a crutch for us, especially since DH will feed her in the middle of the night, allowing me to sleep.

I know the answer is to pump more frequently. I guess I am looking for words of encouragement, like "it will work, just keep at it." More milk will come, right???? I will catch up with her needs, right?
 

AllieLuv83

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Miscka said:
Thank you guys so much! That was extremely helpful. If anyone else wants to share their "system" I would love it.

Pupp, that made so much sense to me. Thank you! You said you pump 2x at work, do you mind sharing the timing? Sorry if thats a repeat q. I am hoping to pump at least 2x at work, and attempt to go over to his daycare (super close to office) and feed him at lunch a few times a week, or as much as I can.

Allie, do you freeze in the bottles or transfer to bags? Your tip on extra parts for work is a great one, I dont want to have to clean anything while I am there.

Does anyone else have a Freestyle? For some reason I don't know if the extra parts to do that with would be the same as a PIS or other. The "spare parts kit" doesnt have the valves/membranes I keep hearing about.

Turtle - Your system is what I wish I could do, but I dont know what kind of bottles we will use. So far we bought Tommee Tippee, but who knows what the kid will like!

Thanks again, ladies. I really appreciate it!

Miscka, sorry I didn't say. I transfer into Lasinoh bags, push out all the air, lay them flat in the freezer, then they go into big ziplock bags.You would prob need to look for spare parts on Amazon or even Medela part websites. I highly recommend getting extra parts. I am a teacher so I pump on my planning and lunch time. Having to wash and dry parts was a PITA, I tried to buy those medela wipes but that was a pain as well. So I bought extra set of parts, I bring the parts in a clean ziplock bag, the dirty bottles, parts go into a dirty parts ziplock bag and everything gets washed when I get home.

Here is a link to the breastshield bodies http://www.amazon.com/Medela-67061-Spare-Parts-Kit/dp/B0018LLZXQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296406394&sr=8-1

I want to say Freestyle and PIS valves are the same (the little yellow ones?) and the breast shields are the same as well?
 

AllieLuv83

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Loves Vintage|1296404961|2837308 said:
Jumping in as a newbie here.

Did anyone start out supplementing with formula? My LO is now 9 days old. I started pumping at the hospital, but milk did not come in until she was 5 days old, which I understand is normal. We are seeing a lactation consultant for a latching issue. I understand that I am to pump frequently in order to increase production, but it is so hard, especially since we are supplementing with formula. I am not producing nearly enough for her. She eats about 3 oz per feeding, and I am lucky to produce 1-1.5 oz at a time. I have not been pumping in the middle of the night. The formula seems to be a bit of a crutch for us, especially since DH will feed her in the middle of the night, allowing me to sleep.

I know the answer is to pump more frequently. I guess I am looking for words of encouragement, like "it will work, just keep at it." More milk will come, right???? I will catch up with her needs, right?

LV we supplemented with formula for about 2 weeks with LO. He was jaundice from my blood incompatibility, so the doctor told me to nurse and then offer him 1oz of formula at every feeding. At his 2 week appointment he had gained back all of his birth weight and she told me that I didn't need to supplement anymore. I started pumping from day 1. I took fenugreek for about a month. My milk did not come in until he was 4 days old. I pumped and got basically .5oz-1oz in the beginning. Eventually what I started doing was, if I had time pumping after he would nurse, everything I pumped got collected into a bottle and after 3-4 pumps I had enough to give him a nighttime bottle, obviously if he got a nighttime bottle I still needed to get up and pump. In the early sleepy infant days, when he would fall asleep at the boob after 5 minutes, the bottle was godsend because I knew he was getting a full feeding and I was not up for an hour trying to wake him up to have him eat. For a long time he was bottle fed at night and I would get up and pump, I would ALWAYS get more pumping at night then during the day. I would pump when he would go to sleep, around 8:30, then at 10:00pm, and then at 12, and 3am. Now I just nurse him at night because he gets up only once but still pump at 10:00pm and if I am really engorged (he usually only feeds on one side at night) I pump the other.

The more you pump the more milk you will produce, I learned the hard way when I developed a case of oversupply and my boobs would be rock hard every 2 hours. If you don't pump middle of the night you are telling your body that baby does not need that milk and it will produce less.

MORE MILK WILL COME! Just keep at it! In the early days he would cry at the boob and my nipples felt like they would fall off from the constant nursing, because there was not always enough. Putting the baby to the boob as much as you can is best, pumping in between feedings is good too. Pumping in the early hours of the morning/night is great. I don't take fenugreek anymore but I drink a lot of water and eat oatmeal. I was worried that I would never have enough and now I have so much that I am donating some milk to another mommy.

ETA: I am not that breastfeeding mommy that YELLS about formula being the DEVIL! But in the case of supply it was really the best for me to stop supplementing as soon as the pedi gave us the okay. It was really hard at first but this too shall pass! Just get that baby on the boob as much as you can. Your nipples will not fall off (even though it might feel that way ;-) )
 

Lanie

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Keep at it LV. More milk should come in. I started off not getting that much in that first week after my milk came in, and now I have a freezer full. But not everyone produces that much. Giver her what you can but don't beat yourself up if you can't give her only bmilk. At least she's getting some. And it is exhausting pumping bc you can't always sleep when the baby is sleeping bc you are up pumping or cleaning bottles. It is very hard the first month but you'll get it down. I promise. Main thing keep her weight up and keep your own sanity. Whatever gives you that outcome is what you go with.
 

Kunzite

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Loves Vintage|1296404961|2837308 said:
Jumping in as a newbie here.

Did anyone start out supplementing with formula? My LO is now 9 days old. I started pumping at the hospital, but milk did not come in until she was 5 days old, which I understand is normal. We are seeing a lactation consultant for a latching issue. I understand that I am to pump frequently in order to increase production, but it is so hard, especially since we are supplementing with formula. I am not producing nearly enough for her. She eats about 3 oz per feeding, and I am lucky to produce 1-1.5 oz at a time. I have not been pumping in the middle of the night. The formula seems to be a bit of a crutch for us, especially since DH will feed her in the middle of the night, allowing me to sleep.

I know the answer is to pump more frequently. I guess I am looking for words of encouragement, like "it will work, just keep at it." More milk will come, right???? I will catch up with her needs, right?

LV - Yes! More milk will come! I remember feeling the same way, that I would never catch up. I hate to say it, because you won't like to hear it, but you have to pump in the middle of the night. Not only is it the time you get the most milk but it's also important to pump often in the beginning because you're establishing your supply. Even now, at 11 weeks, I don't ever go more than four hours at night without pumping. You don't have to give up dh's help either. Since I have to get up in the night to pump dh is in charge of the night feed. That way I'm not up all night! Start pumping every 3 to 4 hours around the clock and things will get better. :wavey:
 

cara

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The freestyle has different membranes and spare parts than the PIS. The bottles are the same, the breast flanges are the same, but that's it. The rest is different.

So my system has been:

Freestyle, pump both sides once in the middle of the day at work into medela bottles, and then pump one side extra most days, either in the car driving home or at home if it works out with our schedule. One side only on that second pumping so that S can have the other side (a normal feeding for him is just one side, though it wasn't this way at first!) Then I try to squeeze in an extra pump occasionally at work, on weekends, or in the evening to help with the freezer stash and keep my supply up. I'm a little concerned that this schedule at work will cause supply reduction over the long term, but I've been blessed with relatively good supply and S is still feeding a fair bit at night. And he cluster feeds a bit in the evening to compensate.

He goes to daycare, which wants all the bottles pre-prepared so we make him four 3.5 to 4 oz bottles every day. We use Born Free glass bottle for feeding him mostly. The glass is actually great for re-heating; it is absorbs the heat from hot water much faster than the plastic ones. There is an extra bottle and frozen milk at daycare in case he needs extra but most days he is fine on what we bring in premade bottles. We try to use the fresh breastmilk most of the time and save frozen for special occasions, like daddy feeding him when mom isnt around or starting up at daycare after a long break.

Extra milk gets frozen flat in Simplisse bags and then stuffed farther back in the freezer once its frozen; I found the Lansinoh bags too flimsy. Also we have accumulated a ridiculous supply of various bottles and the pump parts. Basically I want enough stuff to last two days so I don't *have* to wash stuff every night, plus a little spare, which means we have 9 born free glass bottles for daycare, probably 10 medela bottles for pumping into and storing in the fridge prior to transferring to the daycare bottles, and either 6 or 8 sets of pump parts since I go through 3 sets a day at work at least. I am thinking of buying another set of pump parts to have extras at work. I don't bother washing pump parts during the day at work if I can help it.

Everything gets hand washed. We have a small dishwasher and while technically most of the things can go in there, in practice most things do not get properly cleaned in there. The bigger light plastic stuff gets blown around and flipped over by the water, and the smaller stuff needs to be put in one of those basket contraptions and ends up accumulating food bits and not getting properly rinsed. (Except for the glass bottles which are heavy enough to stay put on the top shelf and have a big enough opening that they could get cleaned - they can go in the dishwasher but usually we just hand wash them with the rest.)

LV yes keep at it! More milk *will* come. Also how do you know you are only making 1-1.5 oz at a time? Are you doing weighings around feeding or going off of how much you pump? If you are pumping, is there some reason for it? I know this is a pumping thread but if you can get her eating straight from the tap life will be easier. Also while I am loathe to deprive you of sleep you might want to get up more in the middle of the night now to either pump or feed her directly to help establish your supply. If getting the supply up is important to you. If she's still on crazy newborn schedule maybe have your DH spell you one of the feedings so you can get some sleep but you dont want to skip too many if you are trying to signal to your body to ramp up the milk. Good luck! And it will get easier!

Puppmom, with your pitcher system I'd be concerned about getting the milk properly mixed each time. We generally heat up the milk with hot water to get the fat reincorporated if its been sitting in the fridge long enough to separate. Not such a big deal for smaller volumes but maybe not ideal if *all* the milk gets heated up for each feeding.

Until now my DH wanted S to only get warm milk because of his immature gut. Not sure if he has the same opinion for older babies. But S definitely prefers his milk warm :)

DrK, I am in awe! You've done awesome. Congrats on growing such a big girl!
 

Loves Vintage

Ideal_Rock
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Thanks everyone for your supportive comments/feedback! Exactly what I needed to hear. Guess I will be getting up around 4 this morning. I think part of the reason why it's been so easy for me to stay in bed, when I *know* I should get up to pump, is that I've felt a little "beaten up" since her birth, and I felt like I needed to recover too. There were times that I really felt so much pain even to go pick her up out of the co-sleeper. Maybe that's normal, but I am feeling a lot stronger each day, and today's been the best day yet.

Cara - I am more or less exclusively pumping at this point due to a latching issue. S will sometimes latch appropriately, but always slips down to nipple only. Feeding was extremely painful at the hospital -- nurses saw what started as a good latch, then left me with her to feed, and she would for sometimes 40 mins at a time on one side. It felt really awful, but one of the nurses said that I just needed to get used to it, and that I'd toughen up. It wasn't until the lactation consultant at the hospital saw what was happening that she told me to STOP! Now, I am seeing a private lc. She advises to pump, pump, pump and try bf'g so long as we are both comfortable. I am not very comfortable, because she continues to slip. I have another appointment this week. The lc said something like we may need to wait until her latch matures. I am not exactly sure what that means, but it will be my primary question at my next appointment. The lc at the hospital thought her latching issue might have been due to the long birth, perhaps resulting in soreness in her jaw.
 

Lanie

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LV--yeah, you will have to get in at the very least every 3 hours in the beginning. Now I go every 4 and every 6 at night or I will explode. And ditto your DH helping with a night feed while you pump otherwise you will be up all night bc the feedings will run into each other. My DH and I have some of the best combos during that feeding...the lights are dimmed low and he's having a special moment with the baby while I have my intimate moment with the wretched machine. :Up_to_something:

You could also power pump in the beginning. I don't know exactly what it is (someone chime in!) but it's something along the lines of pumping for 10 min every hour for awhile. Or something like that....??? Anyway, it helps supply.
 
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